


Here We Come A-Caroling

by zarrati



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M, High School AU, Music AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 13:09:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8981062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarrati/pseuds/zarrati
Summary: When the music program at her high school is threatened by budget cuts, Leslie rallies the rest of her choir members together to organize a Christmas fundraising event unlike any other. What starts out as an attempt to raise money and bring her community together through music, soon turns into the biggest project of Leslie's life, and also brings Leslie and her crush, Ben, closer than ever before.





	1. Bells Will Be Ringing

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Christmas fic I didn't realize I was going to write until about two days ago when the idea hit me. It grew way out of hand, so I will be posting it in three parts, one a day until Christmas. There's something of a storyline, but it's a lot of fluff, too. Enjoy and have a great holiday everyone!!!

When Leslie opens the door to the music room, the collective hum of her classmates' talking fills her ears.

As much as Leslie loves her other classes--history especially-- there has always been something extra special about coming to choir. She loves the music, loves singing, and especially loves the friends she’s made since freshman year in this very room.

This year will be different though. This year she’s a senior and has been picked as one of the top sopranos in the whole choir. She’s not really leading songs or has solos like Donna, but it’s still a high honor, one that she has been working towards since the very beginning.

She readjusts the strap on her backpack as she walks over to the shelf to get her music folder. When she steps back, she hits something soft yet solid--something with arms that immediately reach out to steady her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she says as she turns around, coming face to face with Ben Wyatt.

Of course she’d have to be a klutz right in front of him. Of. Freaking. Course.

He moved to Pawnee in the middle of Sophomore year, and even though they share a few mutual friends, she really didn’t know him all that well.

She knew  _ of _   him, of course. She’d have to be blind to not have noticed him, with his ruffled hair and deep, brown eyes. Those stupid band t-shirts and flannel he always seems to wear. Oh, and a smile that made it feel like her stomach was the new location for a butterfly garden. 

He had never been in choir before, so on the first day of senior year, she was more than a little surprised when he walked in and took a seat next to Andy and the rest of the basses. For all intents and purposes, he was just one of the nicer jocks that played on the school's baseball team. Jocks don’t join choir. 

And ever since then, choir has also turned into a game of ‘how many times can I sneak glances at Ben without him noticing’.

And now she just backed her entire body into him.

“It’s okay,” he answers back with a smile. Dear Lord, that smile. “It was my bad. I kind of snuck up behind you.”

She’s losing the ‘how many times can I sneak glances at Ben without him noticing’ game miserably considering that she’s now just openly staring at him. 

“Do you mind if I--”

He trails off and points to the shelf behind her. You know, the one that she’s still standing in front of and completely blocking? Yeah, that one. 

“Oh, right,” she jumps. “Yeah, I can just--”

But before she has the chance to move out of the way, Ben reaches around her, his body so close that she can smell him. God, soap has never smelled more amazing. 

“Or, yeah, that works too,” Leslie stammers, picking at the edge of her folder. 

“Figured it was easier for the both of us,” he shrugs as he pulls back with his folder in hand.

“Right. Yeah.”

Ben nods and taps the folder against his hand. “Well, I guess I’d better get to my seat. I’ll see you around, Leslie.”

He said her name. She doesn’t think she’s ever heard him say her name before. How did he make it sound so sexy?

_ Whoa _ . Calm down there.

“Uh, right. I’ll see you around. Sorry again for, you know, bumping all into you with my body. I mean, actual bumping. Not the other kind. You know, the rated R kind. Just normal accidental… bumping.”

If he smiles at her  _ one _ more time. 

“It’s fine. It was my fault, too. I forgive you.”

Jesus, did he just  _ wink _ at her. She’s pretty sure she made some kind of strangled sound in the back of her throat, but thankfully Ben was already long gone.

She made a beeline for the soprano section and took a seat next to her best friend, Ann.

“What was  _ that _ all about,” she asked immediately with an amused smile.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just, you know, I was getting my choir folder and then  _ he _ was gonna get his choir folder. Typical girl accidentally backs into boy and then boy reaches around her to get his choir folder. You know, the kind of stuff that happens everyday.”

Ann laughs and raises her eyebrows. “Uh huh, yeah sure. That was totally normal and you weren’t flirting at all.”

“I wasn’t! Wait, I wasn’t, was I? I don’t know now. I was too nervous. All I did was stand there and stare and maybe use the word bumping too many times. I wasn’t trying to flirt. Why, do you think  _ he  _ was flirting? He did wink at me, but he winks at everyone, right? That’s what he does.”

Ann stops Leslie with a strong hand on her shoulder. “Whoa, calm down there. I was just teasing. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you always manage to look over at the basses during choir practice--particularly at Ben. I was just giving you a hard time. You have nothing to worry about.”

“He said my name. How does he know my name?”

“Leslie, you’ve had a ton of classes with him. Plus, everyone knows who you are in the choir. Of course he knows your name. Just relax.”

“Right, yes, relax. It’s fine. Totally cool. I’m totally cool.”

Her eyes flick over to where Ben sits, and for the first time, Ben is already looking at her. He smiles, but before Leslie can return it, the classroom door slams shut and their choir director, Ms. Phillips, walks in the room followed closely by Mr. Gergich. He’s not a teacher here, but he volunteers to play the piano for the choir. He's nice enough, even if he apparently can't go ten steps without tripping over something.

“Alright, everyone, please quiet down and give me your attention,” Ms. Phillips says when she stops at music stand at the front of the room. “I’m afraid that I have some bad news. The City has been facing some financial hardships lately, and that has slowly started seeping into the school system. Money is tight, and it looks like some of what the school board deems “less essential” classes or activities are taking a hit. Now, since I know many of you take this class for credit, this doesn’t mean that the class will stop. However, it does mean that we no longer have the funds for most of our extra curricular events and concerts.”

There’s a loud noise of protest in the room, Leslie’s voice being one of the loudest.

How could they do that? The concerts that they did were the best parts about choir. What was the point in all of this if they couldn’t share their music with everyone else? That meant that none of their performances were going to happen, and they couldn’t afford to go to the Statewide Championship this spring. There’s no way Leslie can let that happen.  

Leslie stands. “This is insane! They can’t just take away our funding like that.”

“I know, Leslie,” Ms. Phillips says with a sigh. “I’m just as upset as you are, but my hands are tied. The music budget is essentially non-existent now.”

“But there has to be something that we can do. I mean, sign a petition or a letter writing campaign to the school board. Maybe my mom can--”

“Leslie, I appreciate your passion and commitment, but they aren’t willing to budge. We’ve done all that we can right now, but there just isn’t any money.”

Leslie clenches her fists and pulls her lower lip between her teeth. 

There has to be something-- _ anything _ \-- that they can do.

“So, the biggest problem is that we have no money right? What if we figure out a way to raise it ourselves?”

Ms. Phillips gives her an indulgent smile. “That would be wonderful, but we’re talking thousands of dollars.”

“Then we’ll raise thousands of dollars. I don’t know how yet, but we will. I’ll figure something out.”

“Leslie,” Ms. Phillips sighs, “that is quite admirable. But I do want you to be realistic--”

“I think I am. What’s the worst that can happen? If we raise the money, we raise the money. Nothing bad can happen from trying, right? If I can come up with a plan, will you at least hear me out?”

“Fine. Come up with something and we’ll discuss it. Preferably  _ not _ in the middle of class time.”

Leslie’s eyes go wide and she looks around, finding several pairs of shocked or amused eyes staring back at her.

She really needs to stop breaking out into inspirational rants during class time. Well, that’s what her teachers tell her, at least.

“Right, yes, sorry,” Leslie blushes and sits back down.

But as God is her witness, she  _ will  _ figure out how to save the the music budget.

~~~~~

“This is so unfair,” Leslie says to Ann as they walk home that afternoon. “I mean, what’s the point of choir if we can’t even perform anything.”

“I know. It’s stupid, but what can we do. That sounds like we’d have to raise a lot of money.”

“There have to be options. We could do a bake sale or something.”

“And raise  _ maybe _ $100 dollars. It’s not enough.”

Leslie growls and kicks a rock. “I don’t know why I can’t think of anything.”

“I don’t know why you’re beating yourself up over this. It’s not like a little after school fundraising event. This is basically replacing an entire class budget. That’s huge.”

“Well, there has to be something we can do. I won’t sleep until I have a plan to show Ms. Phillips tomorrow.”

“And you can count on me to help in anyway that I can.”

“Thank you, Ann. You’re the most wonderful, perfect, beautiful best friend in the universe.”

“Anytime,” Ann laughs before looking over Leslie’s shoulder. “Ugh, Christmas decorations already? Like, I love Christmas as much as the next person, but we haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet. It’s too soon.”

Leslie cackles and turns around to watch Mr. Hogart set up that last bit of his Christmas lawn ornaments.

“Oh, my God. That’s it,” Leslie says slowly as all of the pieces start to fall together. 

“What’s it?”

“Look at the lawn ornament. The carolers.”

Ann makes a face. “I don’t get it. What about it? It’s tacky but he puts it up every year. What’s so special about it?”

Leslie grabs Ann’s hand and starts running down the street towards her house. “Oh, Ann, you are brilliant! I know exactly how we might be able to save the music program at school. Come on, we have to write up plans and idea binders and make sure we can pull this off.”

“I still don’t know what we’re doing,” Ann pants, but Leslie just keeps on running.

If this was going to happen, she needed to start  _ now _ .

~~~~~

Leslie is the first to arrive in the music room, and she sits in her seat with bouncing legs and shaky hands clasping her binder. The talk with Ms. Phillips went better than Leslie had anticipated, and as long as Leslie was able to get the volunteers and organize everything, she was on board. 

So, yeah, all she has to do is convince a group of high school students that volunteering an insane amount of time over the next few weeks and ignoring all other social commitments to keep the music program funded is totally worth it.

Shouldn’t be a problem, right? She'll just give an impassioned speech about why their choir was important and that if they work together for something greater than all of them, they can make a difference to the school, Pawnee, and most importantly, a difference in themselves.

Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem at all. 

She already got Ann and Donna to sign her volunteer sheet, and with more than a little prodding, April signed it, too. 

So she only needs about...well pretty much everyone else in the choir to sign up. They need as many volunteers as possible for this to work. 

The students slowly start to trickle in, only heightening the odd sense of nervousness in her belly.

Why is she nervous? She’s organized tons of school events and has given plenty of speeches. Why does this feel so different?

Well, maybe because she’s never even attempted something of this size before. This is next level work.  

Leslie’s biting her lip with a pensive look on her face when the door swings open again, and Ben, Andy, and a few of the other tenors and basses come in together. She catches Ben’s eye, and on any other day, she’d either look away quickly or keep staring like a deer caught in the headlights, but she’s too nervous for any of that. 

She guesses he can tell something is off, because the smile he had on his face when he walks in slowly fades, and he gives her a concerned, questioning look.

It’s kind of sweet, actually.

She eventually looks away, and Ben laughs again at something Andy says as they take their usual seats. 

Soon, Ann slides in beside her. “Hey, you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, I guess. I think this will work, I really do. But only if we can get pretty much everyone else on board. And what if it doesn’t work? Then I’ll be a huge failure.”

“First of all, you are not and never will be a failure, okay? This is a gigantic project that I know you’re going to bust your ass trying to do, but you can’t control everyone else. No matter what, I will be there to help every step of the way, okay?”

Leslie smiles and pulls Ann into a hug. “Thank you. That means so much. You’re amazing.”

Ann tosses her hair over her shoulder and laughs. “Oh, I know. And so are you, so don’t forget that.”

Leslie feels a little more calm by the time Ms.Phillips walks into the room, but her hands are definitely still shaking.

“Alright everyone, settle down, please. Now, before we start our vocal warmups, Leslie Knope has a few things she’d like to say. Leslie?”

Ann gives Leslie’s hand a reassuring squeeze when she stands. The walk to the front of the music room feels endless, and she swears she can feel every single pair of eyes burning into the back of her head.

“Hi everyone,” she says, clearing her throat. “I’m Leslie Knope, a senior soprano. I’m pretty sure most of you know me--but I don’t mean that in a cocky way. Just that I’ve been around for a while. Since freshman year, actually. See, music has always been important to me ever since I was little, and once I started high school, I couldn’t wait to join the choir. These past years with all of you have been some of the best times of my life, and I hope they have been for you, too.

“But what’s happening right now to our budget is terrible. Like, actually the worst. Going out and performing and having our concerts are what make all of our practice worthwhile. People enjoy listening to us sing. Even if it’s just for those few songs, maybe it reminds them of a happier time, or they can just forget about their problems and focus on us and our music.

And the State Competition in the spring is one of the things I most look forward to every year. The bus rides and the fun days spent in Indianapolis with each other. We shouldn’t have to miss out on those things. They are way too important to me, to all of us.

“Which is why I’ve done my best to outline a plan that I really think will work and help us raise the money that we need. I have a few ideas for smaller things like bake sales, but that’s not gonna be enough. We need something big, something that will involve all of us and the whole community. Something that will remind everyone how important music is, how important our choir is.

“The Christmas season is just around the corner, so that’s why I think we should all come together and organize a city wide caroling event. Over the span of a few weeks, we go door to door across the city and sing Christmas carols and spread holiday cheer. We’ll accept donations and try to get other members of the community involved with us. The more people we can get, the more ground we can cover, and hopefully that means more donations. Then, it will all lead up to a Christmas Concert in the park. We’ll be in charge of doing all of the planning and trying to see if we can get other acts to come perform, too. Depending on who we get, we can try to charge admission to the concert, or at the very least, rack up some major donation dollars.    

“But in order for all of this to happen, we all need to work together. You don’t have to decide right now, but I’ll be leaving a signup sheet here for volunteers until the end of the week. Since this is all extracurricular, we can’t actually force you to participate in any of this. All I can do is hope that being here has meant as much to you as it has to me. That helping keep the music department afloat is important enough to sacrifice some of your free time. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I also know that if we all work together, we can pull this off. We can make the choir better, we can make Pawnee better, and maybe make ourselves better, too.

“Uhm, I guess that’s pretty much it. So yeah, thanks for listening.”

Leslie tucks some hair behind her ear and goes back to her seat. Silence follows, and not a single person moves from their chair. Leslie already feels a crushing weight on her chest, like she’s failed before she even got a chance to start. But just when she thinks she’ll be doing all of this alone, there are a few murmurs from the tenors and basses.

Andy and Ben get up at the same time and walk straight to the signup sheet. She had expected Andy to help out, but Ben? Baseball jock with a jaw that could cut glass? Not in a million years. 

It appears to be enough to motivate more and more people, and soon more than half of the choir is waiting to put their names on the list, and a few of the alto and soprano girls turn in their seats to tell her how great of an idea they think it all is.

These are also the same girls she’s overheard talking about how hot they think Ben is, so their motivations might not be completely pure, but that’s the least of Leslie’s problems. As long as they are willing to help, she’ll take it. 

By the end of the class, almost everyone in the choir is signed up to help, and Leslie is already planning out the next phase in her head--and rejoicing. There’s a lot of happy singing going on in her head right now.

“Leslie!” Andy calls out to her as she swaps out books in her locker. Ben isn’t far behind, and stops next to her when Andy does. “That’s such a cool idea. I can help with anything. I’ll even talk to the guys about Mouse Rat performing at the concert.”

“Really? Andy that would be amazing! Thank you so much.”

“No problemo. I gotta go catch up with April, but I’ll let you know about the concert, okay?”

“Perfect. I’ll talk to you later.”

Andy grins and runs down the hallway at full speed. But not Ben. No, Ben stays standing next to her with his hands tucked into his pockets.

“That’s a really great idea,” he says. “I don’t know how you thought of it, but it’s amazing.”

God, Leslie hopes he can’t tell that she’s blushing. “It’s not a huge deal. It’s just the best thing we can do to save our non existent budget. Thank you for signing up and actually getting other people to sign up, too.”

He pulls a hand out of his pocket and rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t do that. That was all you. You--you gave a really good speech.”

Leslie could hear her heart beating in her chest now. “Well, no one seemed really motivated after my speech until you got up to sign, so I think you’re giving me too much credit.”

Ben just shrugs. “Well, you motivated me, and I’m usually super apathetic about pretty much everything, so, I’d still count it as a win if I were you.”

There is no possible way that this is happening right now. Was he actually  _ complimenting _ her? And smirking? Like a genuine ‘this is all for you Leslie Knope’ smirk.

“Well, if you insist, I guess I’ll take the credit,” she smiles back, and oh yeah, her flirting game is so on right now.  

“There ya go. That’s much better.”

They’re still kind of smiling at one another when the bell rings, shaking Leslie from her Ben induced stupor. 

“Shit, I need to get to class,” she says quickly, shoving the last of her books into her locker. “But thanks again for helping out. Now that I have a list of who’s willing to help, I can start phase 2 of the plan.”

“There are phases?”

“Always. There are  _ always _ phases.”

Ben nods and purses his lips. “Okay, fair enough. Well, I look forward to hearing phase 2 of your brilliant plan. I’ll catch you later, okay?”

“Uh, yup. I’ll see you.” She waves awkwardly as he walks away. “Catch you on the flip side!”

He laughs and as soon as Ben turns the corner, Leslie bangs her forehead against the locker. “Catch you on the flip side?” she mumbles to herself. “Really, Leslie? Get it together, girlfriend.”

She ends up being late to class, but those extra thirty seconds with Ben make it all seem worth it.

~~~~~

Leslie sits at the piano in the music room, softly playing the familiar tune and humming to herself. She loves coming here after school and just tinkering at the keys. It’s so peaceful and relaxing, something she needs right now in the midst of planning everything for their caroling and Christmas concert.

She stops when she hears what sounds like a muffled sneeze. She looks up through the window at the door and finding a pair of very shocked, wide, gorgeous chocolate eyes on the other side.

He just stays standing there like if he doesn’t move she won’t see him, and she finally waves her hand to invite him in.

His expression is embarrassed and bashful when he pushes open the door. She’s never seen that look on his face before. He’s usually either in a constant state of unamused boredom or smirking. This is...very different. Nice, but different. 

“Sorry,” he says, shoving his hands into his pockets. Hmm, he does that alot. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just walking by and I heard the piano, so I was curious who was still here. I guess I was just really shocked that it was you and kept watching and listening. Wow, that makes me sound like a total creep. I just meant that it was nice and I wanted to stay.”

He’s babbling and scrunching up his face, and it’s literally the most adorable thing in the world.

“It’s fine,” she tells him. “I just like to come in here sometimes. I have an old piano at home, but it’s not nearly as nice as this one.”

“I didn’t know that you played.”

Leslie just shrugs and looks back down at the keys, her fingers gently tracing over them. “Just a little. My dad liked to play. He wasn’t a concert pianist or anything either, but he liked playing songs here and there. Especially Christmas carols. He’d play and we’d all sing along with him. He taught me a few before he died. Then, after, I started taking lessons. It was just something to make me feel close to him I guess.”

“Shit, Leslie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

“No,” she says quickly and looks up at him. “No, it’s totally fine. I didn’t tell you that to make you feel bad or anything. Just the opposite. Those memories with my dad and the piano are all really good ones.”

Ben takes a few steps closer and sits in a nearby chair. “Well, you play beautifully.”

“Thanks. It was just a simple Christmas carol. I’m not Mozart or anything. But enough about me, what are  _ you _ doing here so late? Did you have detention or something?”

“No, I didn’t have  _ detention _ . I stay after some days to tutor math. I just finished up.”

Leslie swings her legs over the piano bench to fully face him. “Wait, you’re a tutor? A  _ math _ tutor?”

“Whoa, yeah. Is that bad?”

Leslie shakes her head quickly. “No, not at all, I just...I’m just shocked. I had no idea. I guess I just have this idea of who you are in my head, and math tutor did not fit into that.” Leslie makes a face. “No, wait, that didn’t come out right--”

“What?” Ben says casually, leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head. “Didn’t expect an apathetic baseball jock to be good at math? That’s a little judgemental of you, don’t you think?”

“No--I mean not really...I mean you could be, but I guess I just didn’t--” She stops when Ben starts laughing. “Wait, you’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, just a little. I mean, I  _ am _ a math tutor. I’m actually really great at math. But me? Helping people and doing something other than playing baseball or listening to kickass music? Can’t let word get out and ruin my rep, can I?”

Leslie buries her head in her hands and laughs. “Well, your secret is safe with me. I doubt anyone would believe me anyway.”

He leans forward and rests is arms on the tops of his thighs. “So, you’ve thought about me?”

Leslie nearly chokes on air. “What? I--”

“You said you had this idea of me? What did  _ you  _ think my reputation was?”

“Oh, you know, just the usual stuff. The baseball and the t-shirts of bands I’ve never heard of. How you’re sarcastic and smirk a lot. Like,  _ a lot _ . Girls are always talking about how cute they think you are and that you’re just “too cool” for everything. I don’t know, just...the usual.”

“Hmm, interesting. I gotta say that I’m not too upset with that, although I am a bit surprised. But what about you? How do I live up to my reputation?”

Leslie’s mouth goes dry, and she licks her lips about fifty times before she can even think of an answer. 

“Uhm, I don’t know. I mean, we’ve talked more in the last week than we have in the last three years. So, it’s hard to say. The math thing was a shock, I guess.”

“I like to think that I’m full of surprises.”

Boy, is he ever.

“So, what about you?” Ben asks. “Is there more to Leslie than the class activist and history club enthusiast that also happens to love music and single handedly came up with a plan to try and save the Pawnee High music department?”

“Me?” Leslie squeaks out. “You want to know more about me?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, uhm, I don’t know. I mean I love music, but it’s just a hobby. What I really want to do is study history and maybe go into politics. I want to be the first female president. Or second or third. That part doesn’t matter. I just want to be president someday.”

Ben cocks his head to the side and gives her an expression she can’t read.

“You probably think that’s stupid, right?”

“No,” he says slowly, “I really don’t. If anything, I think it’s the opposite. I can see it. You’re a natural leader that really seems to care about other people. You come up with really great ideas and then actually follow through with them.”

“Oh. Most people think I’m weird when I say that.”

“I don’t think you’re weird.”

He’s looking at her again, and she just wishes she knew that it meant, but he’s so guarded sometimes. And it’s making her uncomfortable. Not in an “ew you’re a creeper please leave” kind of way. More like a “if you keep looking at me like that I might commit social suicide and lunge across this piano and kiss you” kind of way.

“So,” she says loudly as she looks away, “what made you join the choir? It’s an odd move for someone like you to join choir his senior year. Do you have some hidden talent and passion for music that made you turn your back on social expectations and follow your dreams that will one day propel you into musical stardom?”

“Nope, just needed the credits.”

Leslie cackles,and Ben seems even more amused by that and starts laughing, too. 

“Leslie?” She and Ben quiet down when Ms. Phillips appears at the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to lock up.”

“Oh, right. No, problem. Thanks for letting me fool around in here--with the piano, I mean. I didn’t mean  _ fool around _ . That’s not what Ben and I were doing. I meant--”

“I know what you meant, Leslie. It’s fine. Go home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Leslie slides the strap from her bag over her shoulder and rushes out of the room with her head down hoping to get as far away from Ms. Phillips and Ben after making a fool of herself  _ again. _

God, why can’t she act cool for like two seconds. Just when she thought that maybe be was starting to warm up to her--

“Hey, Leslie, wait up,” Ben says as he jogs down the hall after her.

“Yeah?”

“Nothing, I just--I guess I didn’t want to stop talking just cuz Ms. Phillips kicked us out. Especially since we were still talking about me--one of my favorite subjects.” He smirks, but it fades quickly. “Wait, you know that’s a joke, right? That I’m not really that self-absorbed? Now I don’t know after that whole thing about my reputation around here.”

Leslie lowers her head and lets her hair hide her smile. “Good to know. Sometimes I can’t tell with you.”

There’s another awkward silence between the two of them, but neither seems ready to end it or leave.

What would Ann do in this situation? Would Ann even  _ be _ in this situation? She’s hot and gorgeous and confident and she’s pretty sure that Ann would have told Ben that he’s a hunk and she would love for their mouths to get to know each other.

Ann, give me strength, Leslie thinks to herself.

Ben rocks back and forth on his feet. “Soooo, are you heading home?”

“Uhm, yeah. I don’t have anything else to do here. I might go to Ann’s to study later, but I don’t know for sure. For now it’s just home.”

Ben runs a hand through his fabulous hair until it’s sticking up in about fifty directions. Fifty absolutely perfect directions.

“Cool. Me, too. How about I walk home with you. I mean, it’s getting dark so early now and everything. You know, never walk alone at night.”

“Is this a weird macho insinuation that I can’t take care of myself after dark?”

“No,” he says quickly and holds up his hands. “Not at all. This is for  _ my _ protection. I know the raccoons are pretty feisty right about now, and I’ve heard that you can hold your own.”

Holy shit. Ben Wyatt wants to walk home with her. Is this even happening right now?!

“Oh, well in that case, I’m at your service. But between my house and yours, you’re on your own.”

“Hopefully I’ll survive, but if I don’t make it to school tomorrow, you’ll know why.”

Leslie laughs again and tucks some of her hair behind her ear as they go down the hall and through the front doors of the school. 

“So, more on your favorite topic,” Leslie says after they’ve been walking in a comfortable silence for a few blocks. “What do you want to do after we graduate?”

“I haven’t fully decided yet. I’ve applied to a few schools and am waiting to hear back. I’m thinking of majoring in accounting. Something math related at least.”

“Wow, so you weren’t kidding about the math thing, huh?”

“Nope. I told you, I’m good at it. I’m thinking about maybe doing a history minor, but I’m not sure yet. Depends on what the courseload looks like for the program I get into.”

“Well, now you’re just making fun of me. History minor?”

“What? I’m serious. I really like history.”

“Ben Wyatt, you really are just full of surprises today, aren’t you? Be careful or I might start thinking that you’re just pretending to be a one of the cool kids.”

“Will it help if I say that the only reason I didn’t join the history club or model UN was because it would interfere with baseball? Or that tonight I’m going to watch a documentary on PBS on Reaganomics.  _ Or _ that I really like playing Dungeons and Dragons and have far too many copies of Lord of the Rings? Oh, and I’ve seen every episode of Star Trek ever. Original and all other spinoffs included.”

By then end of Ben’s list, Leslie is laughing so hard that she can hardly breathe. “Oh my God, you’re a full blown nerd. That’s amazing. But you hide it so well.”

Ben shrugs with his own amused grin. “No one ever asks. I’m not really trying to hide it or anything, but I guess people see and believe what they want to.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Well, this is me,” Leslie says as they stop in front of her house. “Thankfully, this has been a raccoon free walk, so I think you’re safe the rest of the way. Oh, by the way, you’re not some serial killer masquerading as a cute high school student and now that you know where I live, you’re going to come back and murder me, are you?”

“No, can’t say that I am.”

“Okay, good. Always good to check.”

“Right,” he smiles. “Uhm, well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, at the first planning meeting for the Christmas concert. That’s still going on, right?”

“Oh, right, yes, that. That totally school related event that a lot of other people will be at. Great! Perfect! I’ll see you tomorrow, Benjamin. Ben.”

“Alright Lesliemin--Leslie.”

He smiles at her  _ again _ . Like a full fledged teeth and gums smile that is  _ really _ making her feel things all over the place.

Leslie isn’t sure what she’s waiting for--if she’s really waiting for anything at all. Does she want to talk more? Does she want him to ask her out? Kiss her?

Probably all of those things.

But he doesn’t. Just walks backwards slowly and waves before turning around completely and making a left at the corner.

Okay, so Ben didn’t kiss or her ask her out or even really show anything more than mild friendly interest in her, but it was a start. And if his adorable face isn’t enough, he is turning out to be like her perfect dream boy. 

So maybe, just maybe, she can use this whole Christmas concert to her advantage in more ways than just saving the music program. 


	2. Not So Silent Night

Leslie is reorganizing the notes in her binder for about the thousandth time as the volunteers slowly trickle into the room. So far, the only people on her list are members of the choir, so when Tom and his friend Jean-Ralphio walk into the room, she’s beyond surprised.

“Tom, what are you doing here? You’re not in choir.”

“Only because Tommy is a soloist and doesn’t sing well with others, not because I don’t appreciate the music. I heard about what you were doing and wanted to help out. I also wanted to see if I could find some honeys who want to take their singing to the next level and would believe that I might be a famous record producer some day. Not to mention that the winter caroling look is fly as hell. I got some scarves to show off.”

“I don’t think I understand most of what you’re talking about, but I am so happy that you’re gonna help out.”

“Don’t forget me, beautiful,” Jean-Ralphio cuts in. “I appreciate the arts, too. Which is why I am fully appreciating a work of art such as yourself.”

“Gross.”

“Alright, can’t blame a guy for trying. But I did audition for the choir. All four years, actually, but Ms. Phillips said I was the woooooooorst.”

Leslie grimaces when he “sings” the last word right into her ear and tries not to topple over in her attempt to move as far away from him as possible. 

“Can’t imagine why,” she mutters to herself when Tom and Jean-Ralphio leave to find a seat. Ben walks through the door just as she looks over and his name is blurted out of her mouth.

Very loudly blurted out of her mouth.

The few people around her are startled, and Ben turns from his group of friends, some of whom are giving her their own curious looks. 

But not Ben. He just smiles and tells his friends he’ll meet them at their seats before walking towards her. 

“Hey, you ready for today?” 

“Uh, yeah, I think so. I have plans for some of our initial, smaller fundraisers and divided up groups for people to help with that, then drew up some maps of target caroling areas. I’m still trying to finalize some things for the actual concert before we go talk too much about it here, but I talked to Mr. Swanson over at the Parks Department, and he said that while he hates the idea of public education, he enjoys music and is willing to let us have our concert in the park that night for free. So the first step is all taken care of.”

“Oh, wow, that’s awesome.”

“I know! And the school is gonna let us use the gym to have a kickoff bake sale/ yard sale. So hopefully we can get people to donate some stuff that we can sell to fund the program. I don’t know, those are just some of the first ideas I had to start us off. What do you think? Is it too much? Not enough? Ann said it was perfect, but she’s my best friend is supposed to say that to me.”

“No, I think it sounds amazing. You came up with all of this in just a few days?”

Leslie nods slowly. “Yeah, is that bad? I probably could have done it sooner but I had like three papers to write and--”

“It’s awesome, Leslie. Really great.”

Her insides feel like they’re tying into knots, but she manages a genuine smile. “Thanks. But you should probably go find a seat. I think almost everyone is here so I can start.”

“Oh, right. I’ll, uh, talk to you after, okay?”

She nods. “Yeah, okay. Later. We’ll talk... later.”

He backs away and runs right into one of the tenors going to his seat. Leslie hopes she hid her laugh well enough behind her hand, but once Ben apologizes, he looks back over his shoulder at her and smiles sheepishly. 

It’s not much, but it’s enough to give her that extra boost of confidence she needs to get this meeting started.

~~~~~

The first meeting goes well, and everyone seemed to be on board for what Leslie had envisioned. The first phase is to organize the bake and yard sale fundraiser, and so far, that’s been going along pretty well. They put up flyers around the city and managed to have a decent amount of donations for the sale.

Leslie baked for three days straight in preparation, and is now in the process of decorating the gym. 

She’s precariously situated on a ladder trying to hang some holly from the walls when she feels the ladder stop wobbling. She looks down and finds Ben smiling up at her with his hands on either side of the ladder to steady it. 

“Thanks.”

“No problem, but let me do that. I’m taller and have longer arms.”

“It’s okay. I can do it.”

“Leslie, it’s okay to accept help every once in awhile, you know. I promise I won’t mess anything up. I’m pretty sure I can string up some decorations.”

Leslie looks down at the pile of fake holly on the top of the ladder and sighs. “Okay,” she says and starts slowly climbing back down. “You can help. But I will stand here and make sure you don’t die. And probably criticize if it’s not hung up straight.”

They swap places, and Ben climbs to the top. “I accept your criticism, and appreciate you helping to make sure I don’t fall to my death.”

Leslie holds onto the sides of the ladder, and really tries her best not to look up. Because looking means she’s looking straight at Ben’s butt. Ben’s perfect, perfect butt.

Crap, she looked again.

God, what a nice butt.

“So, how did the baking go?” Ben asks as he reaches up to hang the holly.

“Oh,” she says, blinking and tearing her eyes from where they had been...occupied. “It went great. It relaxes me, honestly. And I think I was able to bake a good variety for the sale.”

“If they’re anything like the brownies you made for the choir on the first day of class, they have to be amazing.”

“You liked my brownies?”

“Hmm, well I don’t know about liked so much as fell head over heels in love with them. I came prepared with cash to see if I could get my hands on some before they sold out.”

“Oh,” she says softly, very grateful that Ben couldn’t see the look on her face. “Well, I can always make you some if you want them. I mean, that’s one of the benefits of being my friend. You get things like impromptu phone calls and presents and brownies. I mean, we  _ are _ friends, right? I consider you a friend, especially since we’ve been talking and hanging out more lately with the choir stuff, but if you don’t think so or you think it’s weird or--”

“I consider you my friend, too. Honestly, I’d be just about anything you want me to be if it means I get those brownies.”

Leslie groans and drops her head against her arm. Does he  _ really _ have to say those kinds of things? Really?

The ladder jostles and she lifts up her head in time to see Ben--and his butt--start walking down. 

“That’s all the holly you had up there. Was that all?”

“Yeah, I think that’s good for over here. Thanks for that. You did a good job. It’s...very even.”

“Why, thank you.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. “This was also mixed in there. It wasn’t holly, so I wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or not.”

No, it’s not holly. It’s freaking mistletoe. Dear Lord, why did Ben Wyatt just hand her mistletoe?

“Oh, no, that’s supposed to get hung up over the main entrance. As a joke really. I don’t expect  _ every  _ person that walks in to kiss each other. I mean they can if they want to, but I’m not gonna be enforcing a strict mistletoe policy or anything. I mean, do people even really do that stuff anymore? It’s not like you would  _ really _ have bad luck if you don’t kiss under the mistletoe. I guess--”

But that’s as far as her babbling is able to go because something stops her. Mainly Ben’s lips, which are now very much all over hers.

It’s pretty freaking amazing. 

When he tries to pull away, Leslie doesn’t let him, reaching up to grip the flannel shirt hanging open over his t-shirt. She feels his hands thread through her hair and pull.

They finally stop when her lungs start screaming for air, but she doesn’t really move her head. Neither does he.

“Wow,” he whispers, and up that pretty much sums everything up.

“Yeah. That wasn’t a “mistletoe only” kiss, was it? Because if it was, I might be tempted to walk around with it at all times.”

He smiles, and if Leslie thought his smile couldn’t get any better, she was dead wrong. A Ben smile on swollen, freshly kissed lips is even better. “No, that was an ‘I’ve been wanting to do that for a really long time and I figured now was the perfect time’ kind of kiss.”

“So that means we’ll do it again sometime?”

Ben closes the gap and kisses her again, a little softer and more gentle, but no less perfect. 

“Yeah, a lot.”

They pull apart quickly when they hear a door slam and a few muffled voices off in the distance.

Which Leslie hates, but she also figures getting caught making out in the middle of the gym wouldn’t be the best thing.

But actually, making out with Ben is the best thing. Like, waffles smothered in extra whipped cream kind of best. 

“I should probably let you go and finish setting everything up, shouldn’t I?”

“Probably, but I don’t want you to.”

“Me neither.”

“Hey, Leslie,” Ann calls out as she walks into the gym with an armful of boxes. “Think you can give me hand hand with these?”

“Be right there!”

Ben runs a finger down Leslie’s arm before taking her hand. “Go. We’ll talk after, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

And running around helping to set everything up and managing the event does a decent job of distracting her.

Almost.

She smiles at everyone that comes in, walks around handing out fliers for their caroling dates and when the planning meetings are. She advertises the concert in the park, and a few of the other choir members randomly break out into song to keep the atmosphere up.

But it’s still not enough to make her insides stop vibrating, or prevent her from searching the room for him at every opportunity. 

“Looking for someone?” Ann asks as they stand side by side at the table filled with baked goods.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been talking to you for the last ten minutes, but you’re just looking around the room. I asked if you were looking or waiting for someone.”

“Oh, no. Nope, why would I be? That’s insane--okay yes. Yes, I am, and I can’t believe I haven’t told you already and not exploded.”

“Well, tell me,” Ann urges. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

“It’s Ben. He came early to help me set up and he was hanging holly and then there was some mistletoe in there by mistake, and then he kissed me. And not like a “oh I have to kiss her because there’s mistletoe” kiss, either. Like a full blown borderline makeout session.”

Ann’s jaw drops. “You made out with Ben? Oh my God, Leslie, that’s amazing.”

“It so was. He’s an  _ amazing _ kisser. Like, his lips and tongue are magical. But then we kind of got interrupted when everyone else got here. He said we should talk after. That’s good, right? He said that he loves my brownies, so he’ll probably want to like, go out or something. Or at the very least, make out some more. That’s usually what that means. Crap, unless it’s not. What if he doesn’t like me? I’ve already imagined our first three dates in my head. We have so much fun together. Why can’t he see that?!”

“Whoa, Leslie,” Ann says as she grips Leslie’s flailing hands. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. He just wants to talk. Maybe wait until  _ after _ that to start freaking out.”

“Right, yes. Good idea.” Leslie pauses and bites her lip. “Okay, but what if--”

“Nope. Stop it right there, sister. No more freaking out about Ben. Just focus on this fundraiser for now, and then just see what he has to say. And hopefully make out some more.”

“Ann,” Leslie whines, “why are you always so right all of the time?”

“It’s a gift. But, I want all of the dirty details later, okay?”

“Like you even have to ask.”

The rest of the fundraiser goes surprisingly well, and they manage to raise a few hundred dollars. Nowhere near what they need, but it’s a great start.

The feedback about the caroling and concert are probably Leslie’s favorite part. She won’t know if they are actually interested in participating or it’s just empty words, but she’ll find out soon enough at the first Town Hall meeting. She still can’t believe that Mr. Swanson is  _ actually _ going to let her head a town hall meeting to talk about her ideas. 

He claims that it’s one less thing for him to have to do, but it’s still amazing. Like, dreams coming true amazing.

Leslie is helping Ann pack up the last of their supplies when Ben comes over. His hands are shoved deep into his pockets and he’s got the most adorable, nervous expression on his face.

At least, it’s adorable unless he’s nervous because he wants to tell her that kissing her was a giant mistake and maybe they should just stick to being friends.

If that’s the case, then he and his perfectly handsome face can just buzz right off.

“Leslie? Uh, do you have a second.”

“Why, yes she does,” Ann answers for her. “I can get someone else to help.”

“But Ann--”

“Leslie, you’ve helped out alot. You deserve to take a break. Go talk to Ben.”

Leslie swallows hard and tucks some hair behind her ear. “Uhm, okay, yeah. Let’s go...talk.”

She follows Ben into one of the side classrooms, and before she even has the chance to give her prepared speech on why they should totally go out, Ben presses her against the closed door.

Oh, okay, this is even better than a speech. 

“Sorry,” he says when he pulls away, but he doesn’t look sorry at all. “I just couldn’t stop myself. I’ve been wanting to do that, well, basically since the last time I did that.”

“No, that’s...that’s okay. I have, too. So, does that mean this talk  _ isn’t _ about you letting me down easy?”

Ben creases his forehead. “No…”

“Okay, good. Because I was just maybe a little worried that you thought what happened before was a mistake.”

“Do you?”

“No,” she says quickly. “Not at all. I guess I just don’t always have the best luck when it comes to guys sticking around after they’ve made out with me, so I just got worried.”

Ben’s gaze wanders across her face, and he reaches out to brush her bangs out of her eyes. “Leslie Knope, do you want to go out sometime?”

“Wait, what?”

“Do you want to go out with me?”

“Like, on a date? A real, honest to goodness date?”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “A real, honest to goodness date. Whenever and wherever you want to go. It doesn’t matter to me as long as I get to spend more time with you.”

There is no way this could be happening. This has to be a fever dream or a sugar induced hallucination. 

But the way Ben is looking at her, and the feel of his thumb brushing against her lip tells her that this is very much happening right now.

“I’d like that alot.”

He smiles so widely that her knees almost go weak. Thank God the door is behind her propping her up or she might not have made it. “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. Definitely.”

So what if she misses out on the last bit of cleanup because she’s too busy making out with Ben? It’s totally worth it.

~~~~~

Between school and planning all of the choir stuff, it takes a while before they are able to have their first official date.

Leslie leads her first ever town hall meeting, and while the turnout isn’t as big as she would have expected, Mr. Gergich and Mr. Swanson both reassure her that there are definitely more people there than usual.

Her fellow Pawneeans are...interesting people, and while she has to respectfully shoot down most of their caroling suggestions, the majority of them seem on board for the idea.

That means little time to go around planning awesome first dates, but that doesn’t stop Ben from insisting on carrying her books between classes or Leslie making him “more than friends” brownies. They sit together at lunch every single day, and after whatever meetings they have after school, Ben walks her home.

Oh yeah, and the making out. There’s  _ a lot _ of that. 

And boy, does her boyfriend know how to kiss. 

At least, she thinks he’s her boyfriend. They haven’t really talked about it or put labels on anything yet, but in her mind she calls him her boyfriend. They spend most of their free time together--and even their not free time. They kiss and hold hands and have adorable pet names for each other and talk on the phone every night. 

Who cares that it’s only been a week. That’s more than enough time, right?

“Hey,” Ben says as he slides in next to her at the lunch table. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving a cup of pudding from his tray to hers. “I got an extra dessert for you.”

“Yay! You’re the best. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. So, are you excited for our date tonight?”

“Of course I am! We finally have a night off, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it. But don’t be offended if at some point I get a really great idea and have to stop what we’re doing to right it down. My brain has been in non-stop planning mode lately.”

“But we’re going to a movie.”

“I carry a small notebook and penlight with me at all times. Don’t worry, no one will even notice. It’ll be fine.”

Ben just shakes his head and chuckles, sliding closer to kiss her.

“Ew, gross. People are trying to eat here,” Tom says as he drops his tray on the table. “Ben, do you think you can keep your lips off of your girlfriend long enough to help me with this math homework? Put that nerd brain of yours to good use.”

Leslie holds her breath and waits to see if Ben corrects Tom. To hear him say something like “oh no, Leslie’s just a friend with benefits” or something equally as terrible. 

But instead he just laughs and shakes his head, kissing her on the neck one more time before moving to the other side of the table. 

Holy crap. She’s Ben Wyatt’s girlfriend. 

So, every time Ben looks over at her between explaining to Tom about derivatives and smiles, Leslie feels like fireworks are going off inside of her body. 

And all she can do is smile back.

~~~~~

Leslie and Ben hold hands on the way to his car from the theater. 

As far as first dates go, this definitely ranks at the top of Leslie’s list. The movie was pretty good--at least the parts she saw. To be fair, she and Ben spent most of the time doing some things besides movie watching, but neither of them seem to care.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Ben asks. “There’s still plenty of time before curfew, so we can maybe go to the mall or grab some food or--”

“Or maybe we can drive up to Nipple Hill?”

Nipple Hill, as in the pretty popular and notorious teenage makeout spot? Yeah, that Nipple Hill.

“Oh, uhm, really?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve never been there before. I mean I have. It’s a great place for sledding. But I hear it’s good for other things, too.”

Ben’s eyes get even wider.

“I don’t mean sex,” Leslie blurts out. “I mean, it’s probably good for that stuff, too, but that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to have sex with you. Wait, no, I mean not right now, as in tonight. I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. I just meant--stuff. Other, maybe non-sex...stuff.” She grimaces and groans as she drops her face into her hands. “I’m not very good at this. First dates are hard and I say stupid stuff and--”

“Leslie,” Ben says softly and pulls her close. “It’s me. We’ve basically been dating before tonight. You don’t have to be nervous around me. If you want to go to Nipple Hill, we totally can. And do whatever it is you want.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I just want to be with you.”

Leslie breathes a sigh of relief and lets Ben open up the passenger’s side door for her. The drive to Nipple Hill is a quiet and a little awkward, but Ben holds her hand over the gear shift the entire time.

The view of Pawnee from up here at night really is something else, but all she can focus on is Ben. The way his hair is just begging for Leslie to run her hands through it, the way his lips just  _ need _ Leslie to kiss them. 

Oh, God, she just can’t take it.

“It’s really nice up here,” Ben says, but Leslie has already unbuckled her seatbelt and is climbing across the middle console.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” she says, and Ben doesn’t argue.

It’s awkward and little bit of a tight squeeze, but she manages to eventually straddle Ben’s lap. The skirt she chose to wear rides high on her thighs, but all she can focus on is the way both of their hips seem to automatically move in harmony.

There's probably some great music metaphor in here somewhere, but her brain is too distracted to think of it.

The pressure between her legs feels so amazing, and oh yeah, she can tell that Ben’s definitely enjoying himself as much as she is.

His hands move slowly down from her hips to her bare legs, sliding higher and higher up her thighs until they disappear beneath her skirt. She doesn’t dare stop him, not when it feels so damn amazing.

Leslie doesn’t realize how wet she is until Ben’s fingers are oh-so-gently stroking her over her underwear. She knows he’s taking it slow for her, to give her the chance to tell him to stop, but there is no way that’s happening.

Instead, she grinds her hips even harder, gasping against Ben’s mouth when his fingers brush against her  _ right there  _ in the most perfect way.

“Oh, God, that feels so good. Keep going.”

Ben doesn’t need to be told twice, and his magic fingers circle around her clit and make her feel better than she thinks she ever has.

When one finger slips between her underwear and inside of her, her eyes literally roll into the back of her head. 

It’s not the first time she’s done this, but she never knew anyone else could make her feel this good. There’s a sensation coiling inside of her that only gets tighter and tighter with every move of Ben’s hand until she can’t contain it anymore.

She arches her spine and throws back her head, the most amazing and perfect feeling of warmth engulfing every single one of her nerves.

When she slumps forward, she feels Ben peppering soft kisses across the side of her face and neck, his hand slowly rubbing up and down her thigh.

“Wow,” she finally says, “you’re really good at that.”

“And you’re even more beautiful when you come.”

She tilts her head just enough to kiss him again, and it’s not long before she realizes again just  _ how _ much this all turns him on.  

Leslie presses her hand against the front of his jeans, and his moan is easily the sexist thing she’s ever heard.

He breathes heavily against her lips when she slides down his zipper and slips her hand inside. He’s soft and hard and absolutely perfect in her hand.

“Tell me what you like,” she whispers as she gently strokes him, wiping her thumb across the tip and smearing it with precum. 

“T-that. I like that. Anything.”

She’s not the most experienced when it comes to all of this, but none of that seems to matter to Ben. Everything she does is met with some kind of moan or grunt of approval, and Leslie can’t help but kiss that perfect jawline when he can’t keep his mouth closed long enough. 

“Fuck, Leslie, stop. I’m gonna come.” His hands are clenched into fists so tight she swears he's going to leave marks on his palms with his fingernails.

But she doesn’t stop. She can’t. Not now.

She keeps going, repositioning herself just a little and lifting the fabric of her skirt up even higher.

He comes with the sexiest sigh she’s ever heard, his cum coating her hand and her bare thigh. 

God, she feels so sexy and powerful right now. She just made Ben Wyatt orgasm after he gave  _ her _ one. How was any of this even possible?

“Jesus Christ, Leslie. Fuck, I don’t even know what else to say.”

Leslie giggles and kisses him. “You liked it?”

“There haven’t been words invented yet to tell you how much I loved that.”

“Good. Now, I tried not to make a mess, but that might not last for long if I don’t get something to wipe this off.”

Ben looks down at her cum covered hand and thigh, throwing his head back against the headrest and squeezing his eyes shut. “Good Lord, Leslie. You’re gonna kill me.”

“Don’t die, please. I really want to do this with you again, sometime.”

He chuckles and does as best as he can to reach around in the car with Leslie still on his lap. 

“Aha!” he says and pulls out an old, t-shirt. “I knew this spare change of clothes would come in handy someday.”

She goes to take it from him, but he shakes his head. He wipes at her hands before moving to her thigh, and it’s so sweet and gentle that Leslie can hardly stand it. 

“We should probably head back,” Ben says after they’re both cleaned up and somewhat decent again.  

Leslie looks over at the clock on Ben’s dashboard, and sure enough, there’s only about fifteen minutes left before Leslie’s curfew.

Leslie nods, and after a few more kisses, she manages to drag herself off of Ben and back into the passenger’s seat. 

“I had a great time tonight,” Ben says once he stops the car in front of Leslie’s house.

“Me, too.”

Ben tugs on her hand until she leans over to kiss him. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Ben smiles, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

She bites her lip and nods with a smile. “Yeah, okay. Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.


	3. Home for Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three is here! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you had an amazing Christmas!

Leslie is putting on her winter mittens when Ben knocks. 

He greets her with kiss on cold lips, but all she can manage is a half hearted smile in return.

“What’s wrong, babe?” he asks as he steps inside and rubs his hands together to get them warm. “It’s the first night of caroling. I thought you’d be a ball of excitement.”

“I was, but then I got to thinking. What if we show up at the school and no one else is there? What if everyone backed out at the last minute and we’re on our own. We can’t do this on our own, Ben. We have too much ground we need to cover. What if--”

“What if we go there and everyone that said they were going to volunteer is there and we go out and have a super fun time and raise a lot of money?” Ben tugs on the braided string hanging down from her winter hat. “You are worrying about this too much. It’ll be fine. There are a lot of people that worked hard to make this happen. It’s a Friday night, the city is filled with Christmas cheer, and we’ve been practicing the carols like crazy. It’ll be perfect.”

Leslie smiles and tugs on Ben’s belt loops. “You forgot about the hot chocolate afterwards.”

“Oh, is that code for coming back here and me staying over while your mom is gone?”

“No, I mean that we’re having  _ actual _ hot chocolate once everyone reconvenes at the school to drop off the donation money.” Ben pouts, and Leslie giggles. “Okay, but also that thing that you said. That’s good, too.”

“See? Tonight is gonna be filled with a lot of awesome stuff. I promise.”

Leslie laces her fingers behind Ben’s neck. “Is that what you call what you’ve got going on? Awesome stuff?”

“Well, from what I remember, you have your own names for it. A lot of them, actually. And I’m only a little disturbed by it.”

“Alright. Let’s get you and your awesome stuff out of here. We’ve got some Christmas cheer to spread.”

And Ben had been right, because of course he was. He’s usually been right lately, and while that sometimes frustrates the hell out of her, it’s times like now that she’s really grateful for it.

There are already groups of volunteers there when she and Ben arrive at the school, and more and more file in just before the pre-caroling meeting.

She recognizes other students and teachers, as well as some townspeople that had showed up to the town hall. 

“See, I told you so,” Ben whispers in her ear.

“I don’t even care that you’re being a cocky jerk right now. I’m just too busy being happy that you were right. I just can’t believe it. We might actually pull this off.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? It’s about time to get this show on the road.” 

He nudges her to the front of the room, and she calls out for everyone’s attention.

“Hi everybody, and thank you all so, so much for coming out and supporting the Pawnee High Choir. I’m sure most of you know the plan, but this is just to refresh your memory. We’ve divided everyone up into different groups, and each group is being given a section of Pawnee as outlined in your informational packets. Your packets also include the music and lyrics to the different Christmas carols, but have no fear. Each group will have plenty of members of the choir to help lead you along. Just sing and have fun. 

“Each group will also be given a bucket to accept donations. But remember, it’s not just about the money. It’s about spreading Christmas cheer, so give each and every house your all even if they aren’t able to donate. It also wouldn’t hurt to spread the word about the other caroling events and the Christmas concert coming up either. You’ll definitely be reaching the most people this way. But most of all just go out there and have fun. We’ll be meeting back here at eight to collect the donation money and there will be snacks and hot chocolate to thank you guys for volunteering. So, whenever you get divided up into your groups, you’re free to go out and start. Happy caroling!”

Her choir volunteers separate themselves into their respective groups, and once they have enough people, they make their way out the door.

When it's Leslie and Ben's turn to lead their group, Leslie relishes in the rush of cold air that hits her face. They walk through the streets of the city, Leslie and Ben's gloved hands almost never letting go of one another.

They go house to house singing their hearts out, and while some Pawneeans yell at them to get off their yards or flat out refuse to answer the door, they are met with more smiling, happy faces than grumpy ones.

When an elderly woman tells Leslie that she's spent far too many Christmases alone and hearing them sing has been the best thing to happen to her, Leslie nearly collapses into sobs right there and then. Especially when Leslie tells her they'll be back next week and she gives Leslie the happiest smile she's ever seen.

_ This _ is why they're doing this. So people like Mabel never have to feel alone this Christmas. So the music can bring just that little bit of happiness.

Far too quickly, they sing their last  _ Silent Night _ and make their way back to the school.

The hot chocolate and cookies are already being handed out, and the cup of warm liquid feels like pure perfection in her hands.

“How do you think we did?” she asks Ben.

“Not sure. I think we collected a decent amount. If everyone else did as well as us, I think we have a shot of exceeding the goal you set for the first round.”

“Really? You think so? What about your numbers robot brain? Can’t it figure that stuff out?”

He gives her a look. “I can’t know that for sure, even with my genius brain. But there’s definitely a chance.”

Leslie scrunches her nose and lets her head flop against Ben's shoulder. “I hope you're right.”

“Me, too.” 

Turns out that they reach their donation goal even before the last of the groups make it back.

Leslie tries not to cry, but how can she  _ not _ when all of these amazing people worked so hard for this. 

She thanks them for their time and willingness to participate, sending an extra special thank you to her fellow choir members for practicing so hard in preparation.

“I hope to see you all again next week,” she tells them before dismissing everyone and thanking them again.

She can't contain her giddiness, running  back over to Ben and practically jumping into his arms.

“We did it we did it we did it,” she chants over and over again while they sway side to side.

“Of course we did,” he tells her. “Your plan was flawless and everyone gave 110%.”

Leslie pulls back and tugs on his winter coat. “God, you're so sexy when you talk about percentages even when they're made up. I'm so happy my mom is gone because I am so turned on by Christmas cheer right now.”

Ben's eyes nearly bulge out if head like a cartoon character, and it would be funny if she just wasn't so damn ready to rip all of his clothes off.

Which is exactly what she does pretty much the second they’re at her house. Her lips attack him before the front door is fully closed, and there’s a lot of fumbling up the stairs, tripping over the several layers of clothes they just can’t take off fast enough.

When they reach her room, Leslie giggles when Ben practically throws her onto her bed, but it soon dies in her throat at the look he gives her. Like he wants to devour her whole. 

He kneels at the foot of her bed and drags her to the edge. She’s lost the moment his mouth is on her, and every tug on his hair, every breathy gasp only spurs him on even more until he has her seeing stars. 

He climbs over her, wet kisses blazing a trail up to her mouth. Leslie doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of the way he feels over her, how perfectly they just  _ fit _ .

And sometimes it scares her how intense these feelings are for him. Feelings that she’s never had for anyone else in her entire life.

But she forgets all of that when Ben quickens his thrusts and all she can focus on is what’s going on right here and now. Not whatever complicated feelings are going on or thoughts about what happens once school is all over.

Just Ben. Only Ben.

~~~~~

The next morning, Leslie wakes up at her usual time, which means that Ben is still dead to the world. Seriously, how can one person sleep so much?

His arm is heavy on her waist, and when she tries to slip away, Ben pouts in his sleep and pulls her back to him. 

It takes a while, but she finally manages to make her escape, slipping on one of Ben’s shirt and holding it to her nose to breathe in his scent.

She makes coffee and breakfast and even works on some more ideas for the Christmas Concert, but Ben still isn’t up.

She goes to the old piano in the corner of the living room and starts to play a familiar tune, the first one that her father ever taught her.

By the second replay, she starts singing softly to herself along with the music.

“ _ Hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.” _

“You know, I probably should be grumpy about not being able to sleep in on a Saturday, but I have to say that this has to be one of the best ways to be woken up, for sure.”

Leslie stops playing and swings her legs over the bench with a laugh. 

“Well, you’ve slept enough and I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted to practice.”

Ben yawns and pads down the rest of the stairs to sit down next to her at the piano. He kisses the bare part of her shoulder sticking out under his shirt.

“I’m already up. Don’t stop on my account.”

She starts at the beginning again even though she’s known the song by heart for years now. Every note, every chord transporting her back to a time when she’d sit just like this next to her father.

“No, you have to sing, too,” Ben says. “Like earlier.”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“Well I did and it was beautiful. Sing for me.”

Leslie blushes and brushes over the keys. “Only if you sing with me. We’ve done this in choir a million times, so I know that you know it.”

“Only if you promise not to laugh. I told you, I’m only in choir for the credits.”

“I’ll try my best. Okay, ready? Let’s get this harmony started.”

His voice is soft and hesitant when they start, and shaky when they have to hold the notes at the end of the verses. It’s apparent that he’s still not used to this, but his voice is still deep and sultry. 

And beautiful.

It’s the first time she’s sung with anyone else on this bench in over eight years, and it couldn’t be more perfect.

~~~~~

The chalkboard in the music room is taken up with Leslie’s lineup for the concert. She takes a step back and pulls her lower lip between her teeth. 

“Okay, so I think this is a good tentative setup,” she says, but doesn’t look away from the board. “The last of the caroling outings are pretty much taken care of. If they go as smoothly as the others, we should be fine. The concert lineup is what I’m really worried about. 

“So, we have the park on the day before Christmas Eve, and so far a few local restaurants have volunteered to set up booths and donate their profits to the program. Andy says Mouse Rat is good to perform, and he has been out scouting a few other musical acts. Apparently a saxophone player by the name of Duke Silver is playing? But he insists that he will be dressed as Santa Claus to protect his true identity.  I don’t know, but I hear he’s really good. Plus, the number of middle aged women calling to inquire about the concert basically doubled after he signed on, so I’m happy.

“There are gonna be some special solo acts and small groups from the choir, and then the last part is gonna be the full choir performing the songs we’ve been practicing. What do you think? You think that’s good?”

She turns around to Ben, but he’s staring at the floor and picking at his jeans. 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that sounds fine.”

Leslie scrunches her nose and sets down the piece of chalk with a huff.

“You think? What about the Santa themed striptease?”

“Great.”

“I knew it! You haven’t been paying attention at all.” She walks over to him and crosses her arms. “What’s up, Ben? You’ve been moody for a few days now. How can you be moody? It’s almost Christmas. Literally the most wonderful time of the year.”

Ben just snorts.

“Really?” Leslie asks. “You’re not in the Christmas spirit all of a sudden? Is it that you don’t like my daily advent gifts? I thought the last mixtape I made was a lot better this time. And then we can look forward to spending Christmas together--”

“We won’t be spending Christmas together,” he says in a hollow voice, and Leslie feels like all of the air is being sucked out of her lungs.

Oh God.

“You’re breaking up with me.”

Ben looks up quickly and his face immediately changes. “What? No. No, sorry. I am  _ definitely _ not breaking up with you.” He reaches out and tugs Leslie closer. “I’m sorry that I’ve been such a--”

“Cranky butt face. You’ve been a cranky butt face.”

“Okay, yeah. It’s got nothing to do with you. Nothing at all. It’s my stupid parents. This year we were supposed to spend Christmas here. My dad was gonna come down from Minnesota and everything, but now that’s changed. He’s got a new girlfriend and insists that he has to spend the holiday with her, too. And there’s no way in hell my mom is gonna let him come down with her, so we’re going up there instead. I mean, Christmas with my family has never been fun considering it’s just my parents talking shit about the other one, and I never really cared where we went, but this year…” He runs his thumb across her knuckles. “This year I actually have someone I want to spend it with here, so of course that’s going to be ruined.”

Leslie does her best to not look upset. She really doesn, but Christmas has always been one of her favorite holidays, and the thought that now she’s not going to be able to spend it with Ben is killing her.

“I’m sorry,” Ben says and reaches up to wipe at her eyes. “I know this derails all of the plans that we had, and I’m so sorry. But I don’t really have a choice, and, I have some even worse news.”

“What could be worse than that?”

“We leave first thing on the morning of the 23rd. I tried to see if we could move that around, but I’m pretty sure my parents hate me. I won’t be able to be at the concert.”

Ok, yeah, that’s definitely a sob that comes out of Leslie’s mouth.

Ben stands and pulls her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, babe. I swear, I tried to convince them but with all of the family gatherings and stuff and travel times, that’s the latest we can leave. Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

She sniffles again into Ben’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. I just wanted to spend Christmas with you. And you’ve been working so hard with this concert. It’s only fair that you get to see it, too.”

“Believe me, I want to more than anything else. God, I just hate my parents sometimes for putting us through all of this crap. I’ll just be miserable up there with my Dad and his girlfriend that’s probably my brother’s age and listen to everyone bad mouth everybody else. Then I’ll be shipped over to my mom’s family and have the same thing. I’d give anything to be able to spend it here with you. To see this concert through.”

“I don’t know how I’m gonna pull this concert off without you.”

Ben ran his hand down the side of her head. “Don’t say that. You don’t need my help. You’ve been doing this pretty much by yourself, anyway. Plus, you have everyone else there to help. It’ll be fine.”

“But it won’t be nearly as good without you there.”

Ben laughs against her hair. “You definitely give me too much credit, but I’ll take it. I really am sorry.”

Leslie pulls back and looks up at him. “It’s not your fault. We’ll just have our own special Christmas when you get back, okay?”

“That sounds perfect. I’m so going to need it after coming back from that hell. But we can still talk and everything while I’m gone. It will probably be the only thing keeping me sane.”

“Of course. It won’t be Christmas if I can’t even hear your voice.”

“So you don’t hate me for ruining all of our plans?”

“No,” she mumbles. “Not you. Maybe your parents for making this happen, but not you.”

“Good.” He kisses her forehead and rubs his hands up and down her arms. “I’m sorry for being a cranky butt face, but I have been paying attention. I think what you’ve outlined for the concert is great. Everyone will love it.”

Leslie plays with the zipper on Ben’s hooded sweatshirt. “I hope so. And thank you. I still don’t know how I’m gonna survive without you on the day of the concert, but thanks for everything you’ve done.”

“Of course. And I’m in for everything until the end. Whatever you need.”

Leslie’s squeezes her arms around him even tighter. “I know. You’re the best boyfriend in the universe.”

“And you’re the best girlfriend in the universe.” Leslie squeaks when he pats her butt. “Okay, enough moping around. We still got a lot to do for this. We are gonna put on a show that will make the Eagleton Christmas Concert look like it was put together by a bunch of tone deaf middle schoolers.”

Leslie grabs Ben by the back of the neck and kisses him like her life depends on it. “That is the sexiest thing you have ever said to me.”

Ben creases his forehead. “I should be surprised by that, but I’m oddly not.”

“You know me so well already.” Leslie steps back and claps her hands together. “Alright, Wyatt, get the cute butt in gear and help me plan this thing. We have about two hundred flyers to go pick up from the printers.”

“Lead the way.”

~~~~~

The next two weeks fly by in a blur of excitement and terror and joy and anxiety. So basically an emotional roller coaster of insanely epic proportions. 

The choir practices like crazy to make sure every song they’ve selected for the concert is perfect, and after school, they spend as much time as they can on decorations and outlining the itinerary and coordinating volunteers.

The last few caroling nights were huge successes and they are well on their way to raising the money that they needed.

All that has to happen now is for this concert to be a success. 

But on the day of, Leslie is anything but happy and excited. How can she be when she’s holding her boyfriend so tight and wishing that his stupid family wasn’t taking him away from her.

“We should be at my dad’s by tonight, so as soon as the concert is over, call me, okay?” She nods against his chest, but doesn’t quite trust her voice at the moment. “God, I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“Me, too,” she mumbles back. “The concert just isn’t going to be the same without you.”

“It’ll be amazing because you put so much hard work into it. Everything will be perfect, and the concert doesn’t need me for that.”

“But  _ I _ need you.”

Ben sighs moves his head to nudge her nose with his. “It’ll be fine. I  _ promise _ .”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I haven’t been wrong yet, have I?”

He smiles and gives her a light nudge, and she manages to give him a small smile in return. “I guess not.”

“Ben,” his mother calls out from the front door. “We have to get going soon, sweetheart.”

“Okay,” he calls back before resting his forehead against Leslie’s. “It’s only for a few days. Then, we’ll have our own Christmas. Just make sure to take lots of pictures of the concert for me--wait, what am I talking about. You were probably going to do all of that already.”

“Of course I was. I’ve got a guy recording the whole thing. Expect a VHS tape in the very near future.”

Ben grins and brushes both of Leslie’s cheeks with his thumbs. “God, you’re so perfect.”

She wants to tell him that  _ he’s _ the perfect one, but it’s kind of hard to do that when your boyfriend is kissing you with his amazing lips. Seriously, how is she gonna survive almost a whole week without kissing him. 

“Call me as soon as the concert is over, okay? I want to hear about how you saved the music program and everything.”

“Okay.”

They stand hugging one another until Ben’s mother and sister leave the house and finish loading up the car.

She stands at the end of Ben’s driveway, wiping away tears as she waves at the car until it turns the corner out of sight.

Leslie hopes that her eyes aren’t too red and puffy by the time she walks to Ramsett Park to join the other volunteers in setting everything up.

“Hey, you okay?” Ann asks as soon as she gets there, but Leslie just shakes her head and falls into one of Ann’s super amazing hugs. “I’m sorry, Leslie. I know this is hard.”

“I feel so stupid,” she sniffles. “I mean, so what? Ben is spending Christmas with his family. That’s what happens. I thought it was about the concert, but it’s more than that.”

“You really don’t know?” Ann asks and cocks her head to the side.

“Know what?”

“Why you’re feeling like this.” Leslie gives her a blank look. “Leslie, I think that you might be, I don’t know, falling in love with him or something.”

“No, that’s crazy. I mean, we’ve only been dating for a little over a month. That’s not long enough to really know that stuff...is it?”

“I don’t know,” Ann shrugs, “but if I’ve learned anything from reading  _ Cosmo _ , it’s that love can sneak up on you at any time. Just from what you’ve told me and how you talk about him, I’d think you were in love with him.”

Ann’s words swirl around in Leslie’s head and she sighs. “Is that a good thing? I mean, I know that I care about him, but love? I’m too young for that. What happens once we graduate if we go to different schools or--”

“See, that’s your problem,” Ann cut in. “You’re overthinking. Just, let it happen. You have months before you need to worry about that. Look, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I even brought it up. We can talk about all of your feelings once this concert is over, but we can’t let anything distract us, right?”

Leslie nods her head and takes a deep breath. “Yes, exactly. I can miss Ben, but I can’t let it stand in the way of making sure everything runs smoothly. I can do this.”

“Totally.”

“Leslie!” Andy calls out from the stage. “I need your help.”

“Duty calls.”

Ann laughs and nudges Leslie in the direction of Andy, who was about to completely overload the circuit.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passes quickly. It’s hard to miss Ben when she’s running around trying to prevent everything from falling apart.

That night at the concert, she stands backstage with her headset on and clipboard in hand, peering out from behind the curtains at the growing crowd in the park. There are more people than she ever could have imagined, and the crowd’s growing by the second.

“Donna, come in Donna,” Leslie says into the headset. “Donna? Can you hear me, Donna? Over.”

“I hear you. What’s up, Leslie?”

“How’s the view from the front? Over.”

“Pretty great. I’d guess we’ve handed out over 100 programs so far. Maybe 150. And the food stands are packed. Almost everyone coming in donated  _ something _ .”

Leslie closes her eyes and sighs in relief. “Thank God. That’s amazing.”

“It really is. How are things going back there?”

“Good,” Leslie answers, looking down at her clipboard. “Almost everyone’s here. We have the first bands tuned and ready to lineup when we start.”

“Sounds good. Let us know when you want the choir to come back.”

“Thanks so much. I’ll let you know. Over and out. Okay,” Leslie says as she turns around to everyone on the stage doing some last minute tuning and set ups. “According to Donna, we’ve got a full house out there. Andy, Mouse Rat is set to open. You guys good?”

Andy shoots her a thumbs up. “We are pumped and ready. We’re gonna blow the roof off of this place.”

“Well, we’re outside and there is no roof, but I appreciate the sentiment. Okay, everyone, we have about ten minutes until the curtain goes up. Get your last minute warmups and everything done now.”

With everything pretty much done and out of her hands, all Leslie would do now was wait and hope everything goes off without a hitch for them to raise enough money to save their choir. 

She presses the clipboard to her chin and closes her eyes, praying for a Christmas miracle.

~~~~~

Mouse Rat kicks off the show without a hitch, and while some of their songs are...interesting, the crowd seems to love it. By the time the mysterious Duke SIlver walks on the stage in his Santa costume, the crowd’s enthusiasm can’t be contained. The cheers and screams are almost deafening as the sultry tones of the saxophone fill the chilly night air.

Leslie doesn’t think she’s ever been filled with this much adrenaline. The different musical acts are flowing seamlessly from one to the other, the crowd seems to genuinely enjoy everything, and people are constantly coming up to the front of the stage to toss money into the donation bins. 

It’s perfect.

Well, as perfect as it can be given the circumstances, but she can’t wait to tell Ben about everything.

“Alright everyone,” Leslie says into the headset. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes before the full choir goes on, so if you can hand off your duties to one of the other volunteers to come back and start lining up, that’d be great.”

After switching off the headset, Leslie focuses back on the small ensemble on the stage. Their voices sound like they came straight from heaven, and she closes her eyes to let the music just wash over her.

_ I’ll Be Home for Christmas _ .

How fitting, Leslie thinks to herself. All she can think of is Ben, how she wishes those lyrics were true. She’d give almost anything to have him here with her.

“Christmas Eve will find me,” Leslie sings softly along to the music. “Where the love light gleams…”

“I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” another voice says from behind her, and it  _ has  _ to be a dream. It has to be because there is no other way to explain why she’s hearing Ben’s voice in her ear. 

She whips around to find Ben smiling there. 

“You’re a ghost, right? That has to be it.” She pokes at him, and nope, definitely solid. “What’s happening right now?”

“I had to come back,” Ben says. “We were about halfway there when I just couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to spend another miserable Christmas with my parents. I’m eighteen and should be able to decide that for myself, finally. 

“It took a bit of sweet talking, but I think my mom’s convinced that it’s my dad’s fault, so she can’t wait to rub it in his face that I didn’t go see him. I don’t care, I just...I needed to be here. They dropped me off at a bus station and...here I am.”

Leslie stands there slack jawed, her hands shaking from pure, unadulterated happiness.

She launches herself into Ben’s arms, which catches him off guard, but she’s too busy kissing every inch of his face to notice. 

“I can’t believe it,” she says.

“Believe it, babe.”

“God, I love you,” she breathes out, and means it with every fiber of her being, but definitely didn’t mean for it to come out quite that way. 

“What?”

“Uhm, I mean… I love that you came back and are here to help out at...all that other good stuff.” Leslie grimaces and kind of wishes that the earth would open up and swallow her whole. “Look, I--”

“I love you, too. I mean I know it’s not been long and everything, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

“Me neither.”

Her cheeks hurt from smiling, she just can’t help herself. Her boyfriend just told her that he loves her.  _ After _ he came back to spend Christmas with her.

How was she not totally devouring his face right now?

A throat clears from behind them and Leslie pulls away with a start.

“Oh, hi Ms. Phillips. I was just...I mean, I was helping Ben here...well…”

“It’s fine,” Ms. Phillips says while trying to bite back a smile. “I think I understand. It's good to see you, Ben. We're glad that you were able to make it.”

Ben clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “Uh, thank you. I'm glad I was, too.”

“I'm sure,” she smirks before looking back over at Leslie. “The choir is lining up and we wanted to do some last minute warmups. If you're ready.”

Leslie wipes at the corner of her mouth. “Uhm, yup, that-that sounds good. Thank you.”

When Ms. Phillips is out of sight, Leslie giggles and rests her head against Ben’s shoulder. “That was awkward.”

“Well, I’m not sorry. My girlfriend just told me that she loves me and there was no way that I wasn’t gonna kiss her.”

“Alright, Fabio,” Leslie says and reaches down to link her fingers with Ben, “let’s give the best damn closing to a concert anyone’s ever seen.”

~~~~~

Leslie waits as long as she can on Christmas morning, but by five, she reaches over to pick up the telephone at her bedside.

How can she be expected to sleep on today of all days? It’s Christmas, for crying out loud. Probably the best Christmas she’ll ever have.

To say that the concert was a success would be the understatement of the century. They raised more than enough money to make up for the budget cuts, and Leslie’s still riding the enormous high of having everything come together so perfectly.

That coupled with her boyfriend coming back home and spending Christmas with her...well, you can understand why sleep is the  _ last _ thing she can do. 

“‘Lo?” the voice on the other end of the phone says.

“Ben! It’s Christmas!”

He groans, and Leslie really tries to not take offense. “It’s so early.”

“But, it’s Christmas!”

“You want me to come over now?”

“Yes, please. I’ll have hot cocoa and get started on breakfast and everything by the time you get here.”

Ben chuckles. “Don’t forget about presents.”

“Yes, presents. I can’t wait until you open them. Well,  _ most _ of them. There’s one present that you definitely won’t be able to unwrap with my mom in the room.”

Leslie knows she has him when he whimpers and she hears sheets rustling in the background.

“Okay, I’ll be over soon. Love you. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Yay! I love you, too.”

She hangs up the phone and jumps out of bed.

It’s Christmas, she just helped save her school’s music program, and the greatest boyfriend in the universe is on his way over to spend Christmas morning with her and her mom. 

And Leslie honestly doesn’t think it can get any better.


End file.
